Uproar over Thiel's Weltwoche article
The Weltwoche's editorial office is being guarded by security personnel. It is believed that this is due to an article critical of Islam written by satirist Andreas Thiel. On Saturday, the newspaper's website was taken down.
This is reported by the Online edition of 20 Minuten on Friday. In his article, Thiel harshly criticizes Islam, calling the Koran, among other things, a "call to violence," the "core of evil" and a "guide to war and oppression." According to Tagesanzeiger.ch Thiel was already threatened and insulted several times on Thursday - the day of publication - whereupon he called in the police. He is "currently being warned from all sides against Islamist attacks - by the Islam scientist as well as by the office worker on the street," Thiel told the portal. The Swiss satirist had already become the focus of public attention in October, when he clearly backed the Islam-critical statements of his German professional colleague Dieter Nuhr.
Website of Weltwoche paralyzed
According to Schweiz am Sonntag, the Weltwoche website was paralyzed on Saturday - "cyber hackers" are said to have been at work. Weltwoche.ch could not be reached on Sunday afternoon either. Thiel justifies his article in an interview with the newspaper. He had not published satire, but the research that is necessary for satire. He stuck to facts and refrained from polemics. He had turned to Weltwoche after reading three editions of the Koran, as well as parts of the Haditha and the biography of Mohammed. "People there were just as shocked as I was when I read the Koran for the first time," Thiel said. In a question about the interview, Schweiz am Sonntag calls the ariticle a "cheap provocation by Weltwoche." (hae)
